Door buffer



April 28, 1925.

' J. T. ATWOOD DOOR BUFFER Filed NOV. 19. 1924 i M r K Patented pr. 28,I95.

JAMES '1". ATWOOJD, ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

DQOR BUFFER.

Application filed November 19, 1924. Serial No. 750,730.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JAMES T. A'rwoon, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State 'ofIllinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door Bufiers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to buffers for doors and other closures and,while of general application, is especially adapted for automobiledoors, primarily for cushioning the closing impact and preventingrattling in .the closed position.

The present invention is an improvement on Patent No. 1,523,627 datedJanuary 20,

1925, which is characterized by a buffer block made of resilientmaterial and adapted for 'edgewise insertion into a socket of a doorjamb, the bufi'er being shaped so as to provide edges 'overreaching theface of the door j amb contiguous to the socket so as to cover theexterior edges thereof and expose only the-buffer proper to view. Inpractice the socket may be formed directly in the door jamb Or by thepro-vision of a sheet metal socket piece suitably fastened or retainedin the door jamb or door, as the case may be.

These buffers are set into position in a door or door casing of anautomobile body before it is painted. During the course of the paintingor finishing operations it frequently happens that the portion of thedoor which strikes against the buffer is covered with wet paint orvarnish, thereby causing the b-ulfer block, which adheres or sticks tothe door, to be pulled out of its retaining socket when the door isopened.

The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide in a bufferof the character described, improved means for retaining the buffer inthe socket under the conditions mentioned, and yet permitting withdrawalof the bufier at will" if occasion should require. My invention consiststherefore in providing the buffer with one or more compressible portionsso arranged that they will be compressed from their normal pos r theinsertion of the buffer into the emnz wand will return to said normalpos lm a r-er insertion of the bufi'er to engage l'ilflfl retainingfaces and thereby yieldingly bniq the buffer from withdrawal.

Referring to the drawing- Figure 1, is a perspective view, somewhat"diagrammatical, of with a bulfer embodying my invention;

Fig. 2. is a perspective View of the door j amb with the casing only,fixed in position;

Fig. 3, is a face View of the buffer;

Figs. 4 and 5, are rear and side end views, respectively Fig. 6, is asection taken on the line (L-6 of Fig. 5; and

Figs. 7 and 8, are sections taken on the line 7-'? and 88, respectively.

In the application of my invention to automobile doors I prefer to mountthe buffer in a door j amb, one of which is shown somewhatdiagrammatically in-Figs. 1 and 2, designated by 11, which is rabbetedat 12, as usual for the reception of the striking portion of the door.The buffer may, howa door jamb equipped I,

ever, be applied to any door or door casing.

the rabbeted' edge 15. This socket, for the reception of and for holdinga buffer, is preferably of less depth than length and width, with onenarrow side open at the rabbeted face of the door jamb for endwisereception of the bulfer. While, in accordance with my invention, thesocket 14 may be formed to hold the buffer in position, I prefer,especially when the door jamb is of wood, to employ a sheet metal casingor other fastening means for securing the buffer.

I have therefore, in the present example, shown a casing designatedgenerally by 16, preferably of sheet metal, formed to provide a bottom17 outturned side walls 18 and an end wall 19 adapted to fit in thesocket 14, as shown in Fig. 2. A screw 21 or the equivalent, fixedlysecures the casing '16 to the door jamb. The opposed side walls 18 areturned inwardly for engaging a buffer block or element and holding-it inposition in the casing against displacement therefrom. In this instancethe casing provides a dove-tail socket. I

.The buffer element is at present in the form of a resilient body orblock, desigbody are formed recesses 26 for endwisereception of thecasing walls 18 when the buffer is inserted into the casing, saidrecesses being of such size as to insure tight frictional contact withthe casing sides.

Attention is now directed to Fig. 6 which shows that the recesses 26 donot extend to the rear wall of the buffer butterminate short thereof,providing portions 22 which will be compressed inwardly by pressure ofthe side walls 18 when inserting the buffer into the casing and whichwhen the buffer is fully inserted will assume their normal position. Inthis position, the portions 22 engage the rear edges of the side walls18 and hold the buffer from endwise displacement, although said portionsare adapted to yield and permit withdrawal of the buffer when sufficientpressure is applied for removing it. The side walls of the casing are,therefore, formed to positively retain the buffer against displacementthrough the open side of the socket transverse to the plane in which itis inserted into the easing and also to hold the buffer from endwisedisplacement through the narrow open side of the socket except when anintentional effort is made to remove the buffer. The buffer when'inserted rests at its base on the bottom of the casing and bears at oneend against the end wall 19 thereof. The under side of the buffer bodyis grooved as at 28 to provide clearance for the round-.

head screw 21. The casing is stronger and held more firmly and with lessliability of being displaced than if countersunk for the usual woodscrew.

The bufler body or block is further formed to provide marginal portions29 overreaching the face 13 contiguous to the exterior edges 31 of thesocket 14, and marginal portions 32 overreaching the face 15 contiguousto the exterior edges 38 at the narrow ends of said socket. Thesemarginal portions cover and conceal saidexterior edges of the socket inthe door jamb, the joints between the metal buffer-retaining casing andthe door jamb, the casing per se, and the joints between the buffer andthe :asing. In other words, the buffer con ceals all joints and partsconnected with mounting and securing the buffer in position, and onlythe buffer proper is exposed to view. The bottom 16 of the casing whichis practically concealed by reason of its location, is however, actuallycovered by a projecting portion 34 of the buffer. The marginal portions29 are undercut or formed as at 35 so that the innermost ends of saidfaces fit against the face 13 thus putting the outer ends of theportions 29 under slight tension causing them to press or clamp saidface 13 and maintain tight contact therewith. The sides 18 of the casingterminate short of the faces 35 so as not to weaken the buffer body atthe juncture -of the marginal portions 29 therewitln It is preferredthat the buffer block be of rubher or some suitable resilient materialcast to shape.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the door-engaging faces ofthe bufi'c' have a larger surface measured by length and width than thecorresponding dimensions of the buffer body proper retained in thesocket, thus giving large door-contacting surface; that the bufferproper may be easily mounted and removed and is adjustable to take upwear and play by inserting a small shim or the equivalent between theend 19 of the casing and the adjacent end of the buffer, which shimwould be concealed by the overhanging n'iarginal portion 29; that thebuffer body and its retaining means, in this instance the casing 16, areso shaped that it is necessary to forcibly press 'the butter into thecasing socket in order to compress the portions 22, so that when fullyinserted said portions 22 will assume. their normal position and byengagement with the sides 18 will securely but yieldingly hold thebuli'er in operative position; that the bull'er may be removed only by apositive act the pressure of which is sufiicicnt to con press theretaining portions 22; that the buffer body is shaped marginally so asto cover all exposed or exterior joints in connection with the partswhich serve to attach it to the door jamb; that only the buffer properis exposed to view, thus making possible an attractive and workmanlikeappearing construction; that a buffer embodying the principles ofconstruction disclosed herein is capable of withstanding the strains andstresses to which buffers of this kind are subjected under the mostsevere conditions of use; and that the-buffer may be produced at acomparatively low cost.

I claim:

In combination a door or a door casing having a socket the opposed sidesof which have inwardly turned retaining members, a door buffer made ofresilient material and adapted for edgewise insertion into said socketand having in its sides recesses for the reception of said retainingmembers. the inserted end of the buffer being shaped so as to beCOIJDPIBSSQd by contact with said retaining members when inserted andbeing adapted to return to a normal position in contact with saidmembers to yieldingly hold the buffer from withdrawal.

JAMES T. ATVVOOD.

